Air Travel and The Space Race: Crash Course History of Science #37

Summary

The video dives into the history of air travel and the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, a significant period in the 20th century that marked human efforts to reach the skies and beyond. It starts with early innovations in air travel, highlighting the Wright brothers' breakthrough in creating powered flight and the subsequent evolution of aviation. The narrative then transitions to space exploration, fueled by Cold War tensions, leading to remarkable achievements such as the Soviet Union’s Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight, and the US's Apollo moon landing. The episode wraps up discussing the advancements and challenges faced due to space exploration, including the birth of private space agencies and international collaborations, as well as the ethical and logistical issues of space debris management.

Highlights

• Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first powered flight in 1903, changing air travel forever ✈️.
• The launch of Sputnik in 1957 by the USSR marked the beginning of the Space Race 🚀.
• Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth in 1961, a landmark achievement by the Soviet Union 🌍.
• The Apollo program led by NASA successfully landed humans on the moon in 1969 🌝.
• Advancements in space technology have given rise to numerous modern conveniences like better weather forecasting 🔭.
• International collaborations in space, such as the ISS, highlight peaceful cooperation among countries 🌐.
• Space debris poses significant challenges, pushing for solutions in space governance and cleanup 🌑.

Key Takeaways

• The Space Race was a critical period that saw the US and USSR dueling in sending humans and objects into space 🛰️.
• The Wright brothers, with their powered flight at Kitty Hawk, played a pivotal role in establishing modern aviation ✈️.
• Jules Verne's science fiction inspired real-world space exploration and dreams of the moon 🌕.
• Rocket science evolved significantly during and after WWII, some reused talents like Wernher von Braun led the US space program 🚀.
• The Apollo program was a watershed moment, showing human capabilities to explore places beyond Earth 🌌.
• The development of space technology has influenced everyday technologies like GPS and solar panels ☀️.
• Space exploration, despite its cost, fosters international collaboration, as seen in the International Space Station 🌍.
• Space debris is a growing concern, raising questions about space law and ownership 🌌.

Overview

The journey of air travel began with the Wright brothers' groundbreaking flight in 1903, which laid the foundation for modern aviation. Their use of data-driven innovation to create a powered aircraft illustrated the intersection of creativity and scientific inquiry, propelling humanity towards the skies and later influencing global transportation networks.

As tensions of the Cold War spurred technological competition, the two superpowers—USA and USSR—raced to claim dominance in space exploration. Notable feats included the Soviet's Sputnik satellite and Gagarin's historic orbit, while the US made a giant leap with the Apollo moon landings. These events not only propelled technological advancements but also fueled national pride and scientific curiosity.

Despite the immense cost, space exploration has developed technologies that benefit daily life, such as digital cameras and GPS. Yet, it brings about challenges like space debris, prompting discussions on space laws. The ongoing collaboration on the International Space Station epitomizes the unity that space science can inspire, highlighting a shared commitment to advancing human knowledge.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to the Space Race The chapter titled 'Introduction to the Space Race' sets the stage by comparing the Space Race to significant historical events like the Industrial and Einsteinian Revolutions. It highlights the Space Race as a narrative tool that organizes historical events involving the United States and the Soviet Union post-World War Two as they competed in various space endeavors. These endeavors included sending communication satellites, animals, and eventually humans into space. Additionally, the chapter touches on the underlying tension of nuclear intimidation that accompanied this race. The narrative acknowledges the preliminary challenge of breaching Earth's atmosphere before achieving successful space exploration.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Early Dreams of Flight The chapter titled 'Early Dreams of Flight' discusses the long-standing human fascination with flying, dating back centuries. It starts with references to visionary ideas such as Leonardo Da Vinci's sketches for personal flying machines, which, despite their creativity, were not successful. The chapter also notes practical early advancements in flight with examples like the use of unmanned hot air balloons, specifically sky lanterns, in China around CE 220 for sending messages. Overall, it portrays how flight has captured human imagination and the early attempts to achieve it.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Development of Hot Air Balloons and the Wright Brothers The chapter discusses the evolution of human flight, beginning with the advent of hot air balloons in Europe during the late 1700s. Despite their popularity, these balloons were limited in speed, poorly maneuverable in strong winds, and not very safe. Air travel history, as per historians, is prominently marked by the contributions of Orville and Wilbur Wright from Dayton, Ohio. While they were initially known for their bicycle shop, they aspired to create a flying machine. Additionally, their sister Katherine played a vital role in managing their household and business affairs. The narrative sets the stage before moving into their contributions post the Second Industrial Revolution.
• 02:00 - 03:00: The First Heavier-than-Air Flight and Its Impact Orville and Wilbur Wright revolutionized flight by creating many gliders and eventually a powered airplane. Their designs featured wood and fabric structures, a petrol-powered engine, and bicycle parts, utilizing data from a self-constructed wind tunnel to optimize wing shapes and airflow. Unlike previous flying machine attempts, theirs was backed by empirical research.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Advancements in Aviation and Its Global Effects The chapter opens with the historic achievement of the Wright brothers, who successfully achieved heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their inaugural flights were short and low by today's standards, yet monumental for their time. Initially, the Wright brothers faced skepticism, except from the aviation-enthused French. The breakthrough came as they performed more demonstrations, ultimately persuading the U.S. military to invest in aviation. This investment marked the beginning of aviation's expansion into warfare, mail, and passenger services. The chapter continues to discuss further advancements, highlighting contributions from key figures like Charles Lindbergh, who made significant progress with more advanced engines.
• 04:00 - 05:00: From Air to Space: The Need for Rockets The chapter titled 'From Air to Space: The Need for Rockets' explores the transformation brought by air travel starting with Charles Lindbergh's pioneering transatlantic flight in 1927. It highlights how commercial airlines became accessible to affluent passengers by the early 1930s, marking a revolution in tourism, cargo industries, and global culture by making the world feel smaller. The narrative examines the technical ramifications including the birth of various industries associated with air travel, from fuel refining to baggage processing, ticketing, and air traffic control, underscoring the interconnected technological advancements that make flight possible. Despite occasional public frustrations, air travel remains a testament to human ingenuity and sets the stage for the transition from air to space exploration, necessitating the development of rockets.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Science Fiction's Influence on Real-World Science This chapter discusses the impact of science fiction on real-world scientific advancements, specifically technology for space travel. While air travel is now a highly efficient and safe system, venturing beyond Earth's atmosphere requires overcoming gravity with significant force, akin to a large chemical reaction or explosion. Science fiction has provided inspiration for such innovations. The chapter highlights how Jules Verne's 1865 novel 'From the Earth to the Moon', where gun club members aim to reach the moon, exemplified early imaginative thinking that prefigures later scientific developments.
• 06:00 - 07:00: The Rise of Rocket Science and WWII This chapter discusses the influence of science fiction on real-world science and engineering, particularly focusing on the concept of space exploration. It references Jules Verne's imaginative idea of reaching the moon via a giant gun, reflecting the adventurous spirit of American settler-colonization. The narrative underscores the role of science fiction in shaping futuristic aspirations and technological advancements, highlighting Verne's effort to conceive a plausible space exploration plan with the technology available in the nineteenth century.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Post-War Rockets and the Cold War The chapter "Post-War Rockets and the Cold War" delves into the significant developments in rocket science following World War II. It highlights the influence of Jules Verne's science fiction on real-life advancements, particularly in chemistry, which saw major progress in Germany. This period saw the emergence of new materials which were pivotal in rocket development. The chapter places a focal point on the work of Nazi physicist Wernher von Braun, who drew inspiration from Verne's novels to develop chemical reactions capable of propelling rockets over long distances. A notable achievement of this era was the launch of the V-2 rockets by the Nazis during the late stages of World War II. These V-2 rockets are marked as the first long-range, guided missiles that set a precedent for post-war rocket science and the ensuing Cold War space race.
• 08:00 - 09:00: The USSR's Early Achievements in Space Exploration The chapter discusses the early developments in space exploration focusing on the Cold War era. It highlights the military applications of ballistic missiles and how they altered warfare by providing a method to deliver nuclear weapons globally. The chapter mentions the controversial forgiveness of a former Nazi engineer, Von Braun, by the United States, who later became a key figure in NASA, shaping the space race between the USSR and the USA.
• 09:00 - 10:00: America's Response and the Apollo Program The chapter titled 'America's Response and the Apollo Program' discusses the differing historical perspectives on the development of rocketry during the Cold War era. A particular point of contention is highlighted through a curator’s suggestion at the Smithsonian to display rockets pointing down to represent their destructive potential. The chapter emphasizes the competition between Soviet and American engineers in advancing rocket technology, which fueled the Space Race.
• 10:00 - 11:00: The Saturn V Rocket and the First Moon Landing The chapter begins with the historic launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik on October 4, 1957, which marked a significant moment in the Space Race and caused great concern in the United States. This was followed by the Soviet Union's achievement in 1961, sending the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space, completing an orbit of Earth in his Vostok spacecraft. Gagarin's mission was another demonstration of the Soviet Union's advances in physical sciences and space exploration.
• 11:00 - 12:00: Legacy of the Apollo Program The chapter "Legacy of the Apollo Program" explores the rapid advancement of the Soviet Union from an agrarian society to a leader in scientific innovation, exemplified by milestones such as the flight of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, aboard Vostok 6 in 1963. Meanwhile, in the United States, President John F. Kennedy issued a bold challenge in 1961 to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade, marking the start of an ambitious and pivotal space race between the two superpowers.
• 12:00 - 13:00: Big Science and Its Challenges This chapter discusses the historic achievements and challenges of big scientific programs, particularly focusing on the American space programs. It highlights the transition from the Mercury program, which initially put Americans into space, to the Apollo program that eventually landed humans on the moon. The text emphasizes the complexity of the Apollo mission, which involved using advanced computers for navigation over vast distances and training pilots to become astronauts, also referred to as 'star sailors.' The awe and wonder associated with moon travel is also a key theme.
• 13:00 - 14:00: International Collaboration in Space The chapter 'International Collaboration in Space' explores the engineering and scientific feats achieved to land humans on the moon. It delves into the complexities involved in designing a command module capable of landing on the moon and taking off again, as well as the requirement for a powerful rocket to escape Earth's gravity while carrying astronauts. The Saturn rocket series, developed by Wernher von Braun's team, is highlighted as a significant achievement. The chapter explains the mechanics of giant liquid-fuel rockets, which use chemical reactions to produce the necessary force to propel the vehicle upwards.
• 14:00 - 15:00: Technological Advances from Space Exploration The chapter discusses the chemicals used in rocket fuel, such as liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and RP-1 - a kerosene mixture with added chemicals for explosiveness. It highlights NASA's journey and challenges in space exploration, leading to the successful Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins' historic trip to the moon in 1969 is covered, focusing on their launch and moon landing.
• 15:00 - 16:00: Challenges of Space Debris and Ownership The chapter titled 'Challenges of Space Debris and Ownership' begins with a recount of the historical Apollo mission where humans first landed on the moon. It humorously describes astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's activities on the moon - raising the U.S. flag, taking photos, and collecting moon rocks - before safely returning to Earth. The narrative hints at the various successful missions of the Apollo program along with its notable failure, Apollo 13, setting the stage to discuss the thematic focus of space debris and the complexities of ownership beyond our planet.
• 16:00 - 17:00: Political and Scientific Implications of Space Science The chapter discusses the political and scientific implications of space science. It highlights the Apollo 13 mission as a significant success for NASA, emphasizing the managerial and technical achievements of the Apollo program. The text describes the concept of 'big science' where large-scale research projects are divided into manageable parts, similar to the Manhattan Project. It also points out that not all substantial space endeavors are driven by military objectives, providing examples like the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars rover, and Cassini-Huygens satellite.
• 17:00 - 18:00: Conclusion and Teaser for Next Episode The chapter discusses the conflicting priorities in government spending between space exploration and particle physics. It highlights the cancellation of funding for the Supercollider Superconductor while approving the space shuttle program in 1993, reflecting a shift in focus towards astronautical endeavors. The space shuttle program, however, was eventually retired in 2011. The chapter implies a narrative of financial constraints impacting scientific advancements and sets the stage for considering future directions and priorities in exploration.

Air Travel and The Space Race: Crash Course History of Science #37 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 Like the Industrial or the Einsteinian Revolution, the Space Race is a trope, or way of organizing historical events into a story that makes sense. In this story, the two great powers that emerged after World War Two—the United States and Soviet Union—competed to send communications satellites, dogs, and people into outer space… And also to intimidate the other side with the prospect of nuclear war. But before humans could send anything into space, first they had to get into earth’s atmosphere.
• 00:30 - 01:00 [Intro Music Plays] Folks dreamed about flying up into the heavens for centuries. You might have seen Leonardo Da Vinci’s sketches for personal flying machines, for example. But these didn’t work. Starting around CE 220 in China, people have used unmanned sky lanterns—hot air balloons—to help messages escape the ground for everything
• 01:00 - 01:30 from military signaling to festivals. And human hot air balloons became popular in Europe in the late 1700s, starting in France. But these devices didn’t travel fast; they couldn’t handle strong winds; and they weren’t very safe. So historians tend to start the history of air travel with two dudes from a large family, Orville and Wilbur Wright. These bros ran a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. Actually, let’s be clear, their sister Katherine ran the household and handled their business finances. But the brothers wanted to build a flying machine. And at the end of the Second Industrial
• 01:30 - 02:00 Revolution—they did! Orville and Wilbur made lots of gliders, and eventually a powered plane. They used wood and fabric, with a petrol-powered internal combustion engine and some bicycle parts. And keep in mind, the bicycle itself was only twenty-five years old! But first, they collected tons of data about wing shapes and air flow using a small homemade wind tunnel. People had tried to build flying machines, sure. But the Wrights used physical data to design one. And then the brothers took off on the first
• 02:00 - 02:30 heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They made four flights on that first day. None was very long or high by modern standards, but all were extraordinary in 1903. The Wrights wanted to commercialize their fliers. But it took a while before people—other than the aviation-obsessed French— to believe that they had actually flown. Eventually, however, the Wrights conducted more demonstrations and convinced the U.S. military to invest. Aviation took off for war, but also for mail and passenger services. With a more advanced engine, Charles Lindbergh
• 02:30 - 03:00 flew across the Atlantic in 1927. And by the early 1930s, well-off passengers could ride commercial airlines. This revolutionized the whole tourism and cargo industries. And global culture: it made the world feel smaller. In terms of technical effects, air travel spawned whole industries. Think about the many integrated technologies that allow you to fly: fuel refining, baggage processing, ticketing, air traffic control, and so on. And, despite our angry tweets, commercial
• 03:00 - 03:30 air travel is one big, highly functioning, and safe system today. But air IS NOT space. Flying using a jet engine in a plane with fixed wings can get you high—into the cold, oxygen-low strata of the atmosphere. But to escape the pull of earth’s gravity, you need more power. The solution? A really big chemical reaction. Basically: an explosion. The inspiration for the solution? Science fiction. In 1865, French adventure writer Jules Verne wrote a book called From the Earth to the Moon. In it, members of a gun club decide
• 03:30 - 04:00 to go the moon by creating—wait for it—a giant gun! Verne saw American settler-colonization as a great adventure. Why not head to the moon and exploit the Mooninites!? So science fiction matters! It influences how we, including real-life scientists and engineers, think about what the future can be. In this case, Verne was notable for trying to imagine a pretty dang realistic plan for space exploration, given nineteenth-century technology.
• 04:00 - 04:30 Still, real-life giant gun-making, AKA rocket science, didn’t take off immediately. Between Verne and World War Two, the discipline of chemistry took off, especially in Germany. Scientists had access to new materials that had simply never existed before. So leading up to the war—and directly inspired by Verne’s novel—Nazi physicist Doctor Wernher von Braun developed chemical reactions that could propel a weapon far, far away. And late in World War Two, the Nazis launched his V-2 rockets—the first long-range, guided
• 04:30 - 05:00 ballistic missile—against England, killing civilians. But after the war, guess who forgave this Nazi’s crimes to make use of his engineering genius? Yup: the U S of A. Von Braun became Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center at NASA. Like airplanes, rockets changed warfare forever. Missiles replaced long-range bombers for delivering nuclear weapons. And thus the Cold War began: Russians and Americans could now strike anywhere in the world. Apocalypse was only a button
• 05:00 - 05:30 away. (By the way—this is still the case!) It’s good to think about how we tell the history of the invention of weapons. For example, one curator at the Smithsonian argued that rockets on display there should be pointed down, so that visitors would be confronted with destruction—rather than pointed up and away, which implies victory without consequences. With new German-designed rockets, Soviet and American engineers competed to fly farther. Much of the Cold War relates to this Space Race.
• 05:30 - 06:00 It began when the USSR launched the first satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957. This shocked the world and terrified many in the United States. Only a few years later, in 1961, the Soviet Union sent the first human into space. Yuri Gagarin made one whole orbit of earth in a Vostok spacecraft, becoming the first cosmonaut—or “space sailor.” Like Sputnik’s launch, Gagarin’s flight was utterly mind-blowing. It symbolized just how far the Soviet physical sciences had come,
• 06:00 - 06:30 very quickly. Out of an empire of serfs, the USSR had evolved into a scientific leader capable of breaking new ground—including cultural ones. In 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova piloted Vostok 6, bringing womankind to space. She’s still alive, by the way—and has offered to take a one-way trip to Mars! So how did the Americans respond to all this? In 1961, U.S. President John Kennedy publicly threw down a major scientific challenge: “to land a man on the moon before the decade is
• 06:30 - 07:00 out.” Bam! Verne strikes again! The Mercury program of the early 1960s put Americans into space. But the Apollo program successfully landed humans on the moon. ThoughtBubble, show us the wonder of moon travel: This program was complex, but it boiled down to a few components: Using advanced computers to chart a course to get to the moon, crossing thousands and thousands of miles. Training pilots to be astronauts—or “star sailors.”
• 07:00 - 07:30 Designing a command module that could land on the moon and then take off again. And building a rocket to leave the earth with enough force to carry not a small satellite, but astronauts, in a module. The launch vehicle that got humans to the moon was the Saturn series, designed by Wernher von Braun’s team. Like other giant liquid-fuel rockets, it worked by mixing chemicals that would react violently, creating tremendous force that was directed straight down, sending the vehicle up in the opposite direction.
• 07:30 - 08:00 In this case, the chemicals were liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and “rocket propellant one,” or RP-1. Which is basically kerosene that has a bunch of dangerous chemicals added to make it super explosive. After several missions, and a few disasters, NASA felt they could safely send humans to the moon and back in 1969. So on July 16, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins took off from Merritt Island, Florida, on the eleventh Apollo mission. On July 20, their Eagle lander touched down in the moon’s Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong
• 08:00 - 08:30 became the first human to set foot on a planetary body other than earth. He was joined by Buzz Aldrin. As young men on vacation will do, Buzz and Neil planted the flag of the United States, took some moon-selfies, called President Nixon, and stole some moon-rocks. Total hooligans! And then they returned to earth, four days after landing on the moon. Thanks ThoughtBubble. There are lots of movies about the Apollo program’s numerous successes and even one of its terrifying failures, Apollo
• 08:30 - 09:00 Thirteen. Which was arguably the most successful mission, by the way, because NASA was able to correct the disaster! And the Apollo program was as much a managerial success as it is a technical one. It’s a great example of big science—research projects so big that no individual lab can do everything from beginning to end, so work is broken off into chunks. Like the Manhattan Project. But not all big space science has been about winning wars. Take the Hubble Space Telescope, Mars rover, or Cassini-Huygens satellite.
• 09:00 - 09:30 The epistemic value of these missions is incalculable. Their practical utility, almost zero. Alas, space exploration is super expensive, and Congress has to choose how to spend taxpayers’ money. On the same day that they cancelled funding for the revolutionary physics experiment, the Supercollider Superconductor, in 1993, they approved funding the space shuttle. This was a big loss to particle physics, but a win for astronauts. The shuttle program itself was retired in 2011. One response to this lack of public
• 09:30 - 10:00 funding has been an explosion of private space agencies, developing space tourism. Another solution has been international collaboration: despite persisting political tensions, Russia and the United States collaborate on space science today! Perhaps most notably, since 1998, Americans, Russians, Japanese, Europeans, and Canadians have worked together to run experiments on the International Space Station. It’s above us right now—humanity’s only outpost beyond the safety of the atmosphere, and a physical symbol of how the quest to understand our universe can bring us together.
• 10:00 - 10:30 All this space travel has given us new epistēmē—such as better understandings of the age of the universe AKA everything. And new technē—including solar cells, freeze drying, digital cameras, GPS, and better weather prediction. It’s also given us modern communications technologies. And, oh yeah, spy satellites. But space science has also filled space with tons of junk, including rocket parts, dead satellites, and human waste. Which raises the question of whose job is
• 10:30 - 11:00 it to clean up? That is, who owns space!? Well, space law generally says that no one gets to own space. But that becomes problematic for geosynchronous orbits, or circular paths, 35,786 kilometers above sea level, that follow the rotation of the planet and so are fixed above specific points on earth. You can only have so many satellites at useful geosynchronous points. The US, Russia, China, and EU already have many of the best spots. This is another way that equatorial countries face an unequal
• 11:00 - 11:30 landscape in science. So space science raises tough questions about power and knowledge, shared resources and competitions between nations. But there’s only one earth, and space science also provides some good models on how to share. After all, the Apollo project was named after the Greek god of music, truth, and healing—not war. As President Kennedy said in 1962: “…We shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.” Next time—we’re coming back to solid ground,
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